Dearly Departed
by shinigamiinochi
Summary: Heero's parents have died and he falls into a deep depression. Trowa suggests he gets a pet, but what he comes home with isn't exactly what he was looking for, or is it?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Dearly Departed

Author's Note: This has a very slight crossover with Pet shop of Horrors, but it is very little, so don't worry about it. Basically, Pet shop is about a pet store in Chinatown that sells very exotic animals. The catch is that the owner must follow the rules, or they are usually eaten or something. These animals can take humanoid forms for their owners.

Rating: R

Pairings: R+1, 1+2/1x2, 3+4, past 6x2 and Solo+2.

Warnings: Gore, violence, language, AU, OOC, Relena and Zechs bastardization, animalism, death (no one yaoi fans will care about).

Summary: Heero had just started his own computed business. He had the perfect life, two loving parents, a beautiful, wealthy girlfriend, and a successful company. But, one day there is a tragic accident and his parents are killed. Heero flies into grief, he neglects his work and drifts away from his girlfriend. Then, his best friend, Trowa, suggest that, in order to make this difficult time more bearable, he get a pet…

Chapter One

Count D looked up as the door opened and hit a bell, making a small noise. The pet shop's newest customer was quite handsome. He was tall, well built, possessed an unruly mop of chocolate brown hair and steely, cobalt-blue eyes.

"Welcome," D greeted him warmly. Heero eyed the pet shop owner suspiciously. The petit, blackish purple-haired man with a left yellow eye and a right purple eye was not what he had expected.

"Yes, hi. You sold a friend of mine a puppy a few months ago and he referred me to your shop."

"Ah, are you looking for a gift for your girlfriend, perhaps? I hear birds are all the rage for young girls nowadays…" Heero shook his head.

"No, that's not it, it's for me. You see my parents just died…"

"I see, well then, do you have a preference?" Heero thought about it.

"Well, I would like something that would make a good companion. A kitten, perhaps?" The count nodded.

"Yes, I think I have the perfect pet for you, please follow me." D led the young man to a long hallway filled with cages.

'Wow… the store looks so small out front, but this place is huge, and all these animals… I hope they aren't doing anything illegal, I'd hate to be mixed up in something like that,' Heero thought.

"In here," Count D said as he opened a door. Heero walked in and gasped.

"What the fuck?!" The figure in the room cowered in a corner. Count D closed the door behind him.

"Sir, please do not shout, this particular species of cat's hearing is very acute and loud noises can frighten them, especially one this young. He is only a baby."

"S-species…," Heero stared at the 'pet'. It was sitting on the floor, it's long, shapely legs slightly bent out in front of it, it had a silk garment tied around its waist and draped along the floor. He could make out a long, thin, black tail coiled on the floor, and the creature's eyes were a gorgeous, ethereal violet. Two delicate cat ears were perched on top of its head. From the feline's forearms to its fingertips was a fine coat of soft black fur, same as the legs from just below the knees to the toes. Its fingernails were elongated and curved sharply like claws and its feet resembled a mix between a human's foot and a panther's paw. But that was where the resemblance to an animal ended. The rest of it was completely human! Soft, pale, unblemished skin, lithe figure with slender limbs and shoulders; knee-length, sun-kissed chestnut hair wrapped in a braid, bangs that fell over its eyes slightly, a slender throat, and delicate lips…

"T-that's a human!" Heero stammered. D walked over to the animal and scratched behind its velvet ears. The thing purred, its black tail swishing behind it in pleasure.

"I am afraid you are mistaken. This is a pet shop. We only sell pets. _This_ is a cat," D said matter-of-factly.

'This can't be real.'

"A… cat?" Heero looked down sharply as the cat-boy-thing started to rub its head against his leg.

"Yes, a domesticated panther from North-America to be precise. This is one of the last of its kind, unfortunately. They've been hunted as a threat to livestock, superstitions, and its fine fur. Naturally, a panther can never be completely tamed, but this one seems to like you, which is surprising since this kitten is _very_ shy, so you shouldn't have any problems. Unless, this one isn't to your liking…", the panther looked up at Heero in sorrow.

"No! I-I'll take him!" The count smiled, pleased.

"Alright, then," he handed Heero a form, "this is your contract. There are three rules you must follow. Comb out his fur at least once a day, give him lots of affection; never raise your voice to him or make him cry, feed him meat three times a day. Never skip a meal. There is one more thing that applies to all of our most exotic animals: do not show him to anyone else." Heero nodded in understanding. The panther smiled at him brightly and Heero nearly melted.

'Kawaii.'

"If these rules are broken, we can not be held responsible for the consequences."

"Um, does he have a name?" The panther made some small growling and chirping noises.

"Yes. It's Duo."

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

Dearly Departed

Chapter 2

Heero awoke slowly the next morning. Still groggy, he blinked and yawned several time, struggling towards awareness.

'Man, what a strange dream…' He yawned agains and stretched. He closed his eyes.

'But, that panther thing sure was cute! If I could only meet a girl or boy like that… even the fur was kinda attractive, actually.' He put his hand down on the bed and hit something, soft, fuzzy, and thin. His eyes shot open.

'What the-?!' He picked up what he had touched.

'A… tail? Iie! It can't be!' He unconsciously stroked the fur of the tail.

"Prrrr." Heero's eyes widened as he spotted a very content Duo curled up right next to him.

'It…was…real?' Heero nearly flew out of bed. Duo opened his eyes slowly and sat up. He made a cat-like stretch and yawned widely, showing off his fangs. Heero shakily reached out and placed his hand on the cat's head, fingering the ears. Duo looked up at him timidly.

'Yeah, definitely real.'

"Myew?" Duo put a paw on Heero's lap and stared at him. He breathed sharply.

"You sure are a cute one, aren't you?" Heero murmured. Duo smiled at him brightly and his tail wagged behind him.

"Can you understand me?" Duo nodded and his ears twitched. Heero smirked. He tugged at the silk garment the cat boy was wearing.

"Well, I suppose the first thing we should do is get you some clothes, you are part human, after all. I have to go to work today anyway." Duo looked at him sadly. Heero smiled and patted him on the head.

"Don't worry, it's just for a few hours. Can you stand?" Duo nodded and hopped out of bed, his tail trailing behind him as he followed Heero to the kitchen.

Heero took out three raw steaks, some hamburger meat and a rack of ribs.

"This is all I have to feed you with for now," he explained. He took out two bowls. He put a steak and half of the meat in one bowl and the ribs and rest of the hamburger in another. He put one of the bowls in the refrigerator.

"You can have this bowl for breakfast, the one in the refrigerator is your lunch, I'll buy you some dinner after work. Do you know how to open the door?" Duo shook his head as he sat on the floor.

"You put your hand, er, paw, on this handle here, grip it, and pull." Duo mrowed in understanding. Duo smiled all the way as Heero gave him a tour of his apartment and waved as he left for work.

Heero sat at his desk, not thinking of work at all.

'I wonder if Duo is ok. I'm not sure what would happen if I didn't feed him three times a day. I wonder if I gave him enough food… what should I buy him for dinner tonight…' A hand waved in front of his face.

"You ok?" Trowa Barton, Heero's best friend and the one who had referred the pet shop to him, asked.

'I'll have to get him a gift basket or something.'

"Hai, I guess."

"You look a lot better than yesterday."

"Yeah, actually, I haven't thought about the funeral since I left the pet shop yesterday." Trowa grinned.

"So, what did you get?"

"A kitten."

"A kitten, eh? I always figured you as a dog person. So, what does it look like?"

"He has black fur with lots of chestnut. A gorgeous, rare shade of violet for eye color and is small for his species. HE has the cutest meow and is intelligent for a cat." Trowa smiled widely.

"Aa. That's what Quatre was like when I bought him." Heero rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe you named your dog after your boyfriend!" Trowa shrugged.

"Their personalities are so much alike; one could say they were the same." Heero glanced at him.

"That's an odd thing for you to say." Trowa just shrugged again.

"Can I come over to see him?" Heero shook his head.

"He's a very rare species, I'm not supposed to let anyone see him." Trowa nodded.

"Yeah, that's how it was with Quatre, that's why I don't bring the dog outside."

"I have to buy him pet stuff after work. Any suggestions?' Trowa thought for a moment.

"A plush." Heero raised an eyebrow.

"A plush?" Trowa nodded.

"Lots of pet owners get plush's for their pets. I got a camel for Q-chan." Heero smirked.

'Hm. I bet Duo-chan would like a stuffed animal. It would help him not to be so lonely when I go off to work.'

"Arigato," Heero thanked Trowa for his advice.

"Tadaima!" Heero called as he opened and closed his apartment door. He blinked as he saw Duo sitting in a crouch near the door, obviously waiting for him. As soon as he saw Heero, he smiled brightly and pounced. Heero cried out as he was thrown to the ground and Duo wrapped himself around him. Heero's face turned bright red. Duo was, after all, barely covered.

"D-Duo!" Duo looked up at him, innocently. After a few minutes, Heero was finally able to dislodge his pet. He picked up the bags he had brought.

"I bought you something." Duo's ears perked up, he pawed at the bag and gnawed on the rope handles. Heero laughed and knelt down next to him.

"There _is_ food in there, though I doubt the bag itself is very nutritious." Heero took the bags to the kitchen. He put the bag on the table and Duo leaned onto the wooden structure, his tail swishing back and forth in anticipation. Heero smiled.

'He looks like a five year old on Christmas morning, cute!' Heero took out the large packs of steaks, chicken, and lamb chops and put them in the freezer.

"I've ordered some fried chicken for you. Can you eat potatoes?" The kitten nodded eagerly. That was when Heero saw the empty laundry basket.

"What the- that was full this morning." Heero walked into his bedroom and gasped. There were his clothes, neatly folded and clean on his bed. He touched one pile lightly. They were softer and fluffier than normal. He looked down, shocked, at Duo who had followed him.

"Did you do this?" Duo nodded and pointed to the TV, which Heero had forgotten to turn off that morning.

"You saw them do it on TV?" Duo nodded enthusiastically again. Heero knelt down and scratched Duo's head.

"Prrrr," Duo rubbed his head against Heero's leg. Heero smirked.

"Thank you." Duo smiled his brightest smile at Heero.

"Myew."

'Intelligent indeed. He did the laundry better than _I_ do!'

"Do you know how to read?" Duo 'mrow'ed in the affirmative. Heero gazed at him in surprise.

"You do? Who taught you? The pet store owner?" Duo shook his head.

"Your last owner?" Duo looked devastatingly sad at the comment. He nodded for a third time, his face downcast.

"Duo, what happened to your last owner?" Duo butted his head into Heero's chest and pointed to him.

'Me?' Heero thought, 'what could I have to do with his last owner?' The, it dawned on him.

"You mean my parents? He died like them?" Duo nodded, since it was the only way he could think of communicating.

"Duo… how do you know that about my parents?" Duo pointed to Heero's eyes then to his own teary ones.

"You could see in my eyes that I was sad?" Duo flung himself into Heero's arms. Heero stroked his hair, ignoring the wetness on his shirt from Duo's tears.

"So, you're sad, too? At least I've got friends to comfort me. You're all alone…" Duo shook his head, looking up and poked Heero in the stomach.

"Me? I'm your friend?" Duo gripped Heero's tanktop. Heero took that as a yes and smiled.

"Will you be alright?" He asked. Duo flashed him the V sign. Heero laughed.

"Did you see that on TV as well?" Duo grinned.

"C'mon, Du-chan, the fried chicken should be here any second."

The two of them ate in a comfortable silence. Duo cleaned every single last shred of meat off of the chicken bones and gnawed on them making Heero laugh. When they were done, they cleared the table. Heero quickly learned that, though he could stand upright like a human, Duo was pretty shaky on two legs; he needed more practice and was more comfortable on all fours. Because of this, he licked the dishes clean instead of washing them at the sink. Heero raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aren't you full?" Duo gave him a look that said: are you kidding? You can _never_ have too much food! Heero smirked. After they finished the dishes, they went to the living room. Heero handed Duo, who was sitting on the couch, the other bag he had gotten. The bag contained a gift and Duo's clothes. Duo poked at them in confusion.

"They're clothing. You wear them, like mine. I'll show you how tomorrow." Then, Duo got to the gift. He pulled out a plush bat, about the size of a towel dispenser, with shiny blue beads for eyes and made with velvet.

"It's for you," Heero smiled. Duo hugged the stuffed creature to his chest. The next thing Heero knew, Duo was licking his cheek. Heero turned bright red.

'He's kissing me! Must not think hentai thoughts! He's a cat, an _animal_ for crying out loud!' Despite his thoughts, Heero unconsciously wrapped his arm around his ktten. Duo chirped in happiness. That night, the two of them once again retired to the same bed, Duo still hugging his plush and curled up against his owner.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Dearly Departed

Chapter 3

Heero awoke to someone shaking him. Worried violet eyes met his and Heero was instantly awake. For the cat to look like that, something must be wrong. Duo was wearing just his pajama pants that Heero had cut a hole out for his tail and he was clutching his bat to his chest. Duo frantically pointed at the clock. Heero saw that it was five minutes past his usual wake up time. It wasn't so late that he would have to rush, but if Duo hadn't been here, he would have overslept by a lot. He rubbed one of Duo's ears in gratitude. Still, Duo tugged on Heero's shirt, trying to tug him out of bed.

"Alright, alright, I'm up," Heero laughed. Duo ran to the kitchen and Heero headed to the shower. His heart ached as he remembered his mother waking him up that exactly same way. He shook off the feeling. He missed his parents very much, but having Duo around made him feel better. Just seeing the cat smiling at him so openly made all of his bad feelings vanish. He got out of the shower and went to the kitchen. He saw that Duo had already set the table, though he hadn't done a very good job of it. Duo was still learning, so Heero wouldn't penalize him for it, besides it was the thought that counted. Patiently, Heero showed him how to do it properly, the fork did not belong under the plate and the knife did not belong in the water glass. Duo watched all of this in fascination. Duo's zest for life and learning was contagious and Heero found himself smiling even at the simple task of making scrambled eggs. He let Duo try some of the eggs and gave him some friend hamburger for breakfast. The smell wasn't tantalizing to Heero so early in the morning, but Duo seemed to love it. Heero decided that he would take a little bit of time out of each day to teach Duo things. Yesterday he had taught him how to dress and Duo had already taught himself how to do the laundry. Today he would teach him how to use the shower. For normal cats, they could wash themselves with their tongues, but Duo wasn't a normal pet and he remembered watching an Animal Planet special on tigers and panthers and it had said that the big cats loved water, so he was sure that Duo would enjoy a shower. Duo watched intensely as Heero washed the dishes and Heero knew that he was storing the information away from later use. The cat's intelligence was very much like a human's. Heero let Duo help him with the dishes, though there weren't that many to do. Still, Duo seemed happy to do anything to help Heero. As Duo was concentrating on how to dry the dishes once they were washed, a plate slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor. Duo's reaction was immediate; he crouched on the floor, hanging his head in an act of submission and his whole body shook as he tried to get his cries under control.

"Duo!" Heero cried, worried both about the reaction and that Duo might hurt himself on the shards of the broken dish. He wrapped his arms around the cat who flinched slightly at the touch.

"It's alright," Heero said, stroking Duo's hair. Duo started to settle down at the reassuring touch. Heero caressed Duo's cheek and wiped away his tears.

"I will never hurt you. No matter how angry I am, I will never strike you, ok?" Heero smiled at Duo and Duo tried to smile back, though he still looked unsure that he wouldn't be punished. "And I'm not mad, Duo. It was just an accident. I have hundreds of plates but only one kitty." Duo rubbed against Heero's cheek in happiness. Heero's smile grew. He never wanted Duo to be afraid of him. Suddenly, the door rang. Heero swore.

"Bad timing," he muttered. If he didn't hurry up, he might be late for work after all. Duo's ears flattened back against his skull and he hissed. The sound was loud and frightening coming from the small cat. Whoever was at the door, Duo didn't like them.

"Go to the bedroom," Heero told Duo, "I'm not supposed to let anyone see you, remember?" Duo nodded and carefully maneuvered around the broken plate and ran into the bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind him. Heero sighed. It wouldn't be Trowa, his friend had more common sense than that. The knocking came harder and more insistent. With an impatient frown, Heero went to open it, only to have someone throw their arms around him and he nearly fell to the ground. He instantly felt angry about anyone touching him like that, only Duo was allowed that privilege! He might have wondered at how he allowed Duo to tackle him like this when he hated it when anyone else did it, but he just didn't have the time.

"Heero!" The person squeaked, their voice high pitched.

"Relena," Heero growled, "What are you doing here?" Relena got off of Heero and smiled sweetly, but Heero only felt more annoyed. He hadn't seen the blonde girl since his parents funeral. Personally, he had been furious that she had showed up at all. Of course, she had every right to be there, their families had been close for years but the last few years their parents had had a falling out and he had hoped never to see her again. The only reason why he had not thrown her out of the funeral was out of respect for his parents. It was no wonder Duo hadn't liked her; her perfume was enough to make his nose itch and Heero had normal, human senses.

"Oh, Heero! My brother told me that you hadn't been eating or going to work! How horrible! I came here to help!" She said earnestly. Heero narrowed his eyes at her. He hated Zechs, her older brother, just as much as he hated Relena. The man spent most of his time blowing things out of proportions just so he could see some drama. He was always butting into other people's business and had a different boyfriend at the end of every week. Zechs knew about Heero's dislike of him and didn't care, if anything he treated Heero like his own personal playground.

"Relena, if you hadn't listened to your brother's gossip and had actually talked to Trowa, who works with me while your brother does not, you would discover that I have been going to work and that my appetite is fine." Relena frowned.

"Now, Heero, I think my brother knows about these things a little bit more than Trowa Barton. Besides, you may think you're fine, but you are not! I'm a woman and I can tell!" Relena insisted. Heero just tried to ignore her. He grabbed his keys from their hook by the door and put on his shoes. He was angry that he could not say goodbye to Duo properly.

"I'm sorry, Relena," he said insincerely, "But I have to go to work," he stressed the work. Relena and her brother didn't have jobs, they just leeched off of their parents. Heero doubted if either of them had ever worked a day in their lives. Heero's parents had been fairly wealthy, too, but unlike the Peacecrafts, the Yuys did not flaunt their wealth or spoil their son. Heero liked being independent and he like working for a living. He brushed past Relena, who was sputtering, trying to get Heero to go with her to some stupid restaurant as Heero rushed to his car.

Duo poked his head out his Master's bedroom. That horrible female and her domineering stench had finally left. Duo went to the kitchen. He had done bad, he had broken one of his Master's things, but Master had not punished him. Duo felt at his slender neck. Master had not put a collar on him, yet and Duo hoped that he never would. Collars were evil things and they hurt. His Master was a good human; Duo could sense that, so he wanted to do everything he could to help him. Heero was so sad, just like Duo and Duo was glad that he was around to make things better. Duo knelt down on the floor and started to pick up the pieces of plate. He would clean up the house and show his Master that he could be a good kitty and that he didn't need a collar to behave. The pieces of plate cut his fingers, but Duo didn't mind, he was used to pain.

End Chapter 3


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